The fear of death follows from the fear of life.  A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.  ~Mark Twain

It is true, I do have a terminal illness.  The doctors can’t tell me how much longer I have, it could be minutes, it could be days, months or even years.  It seems sometime in the early morning hours of September 19, 1966 as I took my first breath I contracted a terminal illness called life.  I am sorry to report but there currently is no cure, it is 100% fatal.  It is highly contagious, and from what I understand everyone has it, we are all carriers.

If you’re not quite certain that you suffer from this incurable disease just ask yourself if you have any of the following symptoms:

• You are currently breathing

If you are currently breathing that is a good sign, you definitely have the main symptom of life.  No need to go see a doctor, don’t waste your money, you are definitely dying.  The amazing thing, between Avian Flu, Al Qaeda, and lead coated Barbie dolls from china this disease isn’t discussed much on the news.  I have not yet seen an in depth report by Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN.  I’m beginning to think that this is a huge government cover up, which doesn’t make sense, because fear is how the government gets us to vote, and the media turns your viewing eyes into advertising dollars.

Maybe it’s because we shouldn’t fear this simple little fact that we are all dying, but instead fear how we are living our lives in the meantime.   Sorry if I am coming off as a bit macabre, it is not my intention to disarm anyone, but to inspire myself to get off of my butt and enjoy what precious little time I get on this planet.  That is not to say that I am not excited about what awaits me on that next journey that we have labeled death, but apparently this little adventure we call life is so important that some higher power found it necessary that we experience it, and experience it I must.

I don’t know where this will all lead, but something tells me that through all this growth and change that I am experiencing it is going to lead to some truly interesting places.  It already has thus far, but this is only the beginning, I haven’t hit the big hills or loops on this roller coaster ride just yet, however I sense that they are right around the corner.

I hope no one thinks I am making light of cancer and other illnesses, but the message I keep getting from those who are experiencing such things is that “we know how to die, we just don’t know how to live.”

Time to learn…

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I can live for two months on a good compliment. ~Mark Twain

I was sitting down getting ready to go through my nightly ritual of meditation, visualization and affirmations when I noticed I had missed a phone call. It was Tanya one of my co-workers who has turned into a really good friend. So I called her back to see what was up and she said she just wanted to tell me that she was grateful that I had entered her life. That touched me. Tanya, if you are reading this, I am grateful to have met you too.

She also went on to say that she knew that I was someone special and was going on to do big things and followed it up with, “I don’t know if anyone told you that today or not…” The simple fact is I get told stuff like this all the time. I am so blessed with so many good friends that I can’t turn any direction without bumping into someone who cares for me, and I am so grateful to be blessed in such a manner.

That wasn’t the only compliment I received today. A young aunt and her little niece had gone horseback riding today and they were both really hot and tired from the Nevada sun. I didn’t know their back story until later, I just heard someone in the deli telling them that Starbucks had some water. So as I passed by them I told them to come right over and I’d have it ready for them, and of course we did.

She and her niece sat down in our lobby and ate a quick snack and drank their water, but on their way out I handed them a couple of samples of a new frappucino that we are selling, of course it was the creme base no caffeine for the little ones. All of this attention impressed her enough to call my bosses and let them know about me.

As I sit here writing this, I have come to the conclusion that I do not give enough compliments throughout the day, and it is my intention to actively, but with honesty, give out as many compliments as I can every day from here on out.

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Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.

Life was not meant to be difficult, but it sure as hell wasn’t meant to be easy. If it weren’t for the challenges we face in life, we would never have a chance to grow, physically, mentally or spiritually.

We have all been in the store and watched as a parent gives into every whim and demand to their little angel who is screaming at the top of their lungs non-stop. If this were to continue for the remainder of this child’s youth chances are, unless the parents are considerably wealthy, have a lot of pull or power in their career field so they can continue the spoiling into adulthood, this child will have learned nothing about patience, work ethic, gratitude, or any other virtues that help to make us whole beings. But if this parent were to say no to this child would that mean they loved them any less? No.  In fact it takes a lot more love to say no, than it does to say yes.

I don’t want to be that spoiled child in life who gets everything handed to them without any effort at all. I want to be able to understand what gratitude truly feels like, what accomplishment truly feels like, and that’s why we have challenges. Challenges are merely obstacles that we either go over or go around, either way we overcome them just enough to get back onto the path we were taking that was moving us forward.

It once again all boils down to perspective. You can look at challenges as either hard work, or an opportunity to grow whatever physical, or metaphysical muscle that needs to be worked on. Challenges in the past to me were hard work, they felt like punishment even though I had done nothing wrong. My mantra was, “Why me?” Now it’s “Why not me?”

Do I face every challenge with a smile on my face? You would know I was a miserable liar if I said yes. But I do face them with the knowledge that there is something wonderful waiting for me on the other side, so let’s figure out how to either get over this obstacle, or around it, because I can’t wait to see what it is.

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Life is something that happens when you can’t get to sleep. ~Fran Lebowitz

I enjoy many things like watching t.v., sleeping, and eating, but not one of these things has brought me the fulfillment in life that I desire. When you consider that we spend almost one third of our life sleeping, another one third working, and then what’s left of the time we have spread amongst things like watching t.v., running errands, visiting family or friends, it is no wonder we think life is just passing us by.

I used to think that I was picky when it came to what I watched on t.v., until I added up the hours, and came to realize why I wasn’t accomplishing the goals I had in life. Over the past couple of weeks I have severely limited my t.v. intake to a maximum of two hours a day, and I am not even hitting that maximum target at all. I am maybe watching one hour, and the amount of time I have left to do the things I truly enjoy is staggering.

What does this have to do with being awake? Well I am awake literally, and metaphorically now. Today is my day off, and I am up at 7:30 in the morning ready to take on the world. I don’t have to be up, I want to be up, because there is a drive and energy within me that continues to grow, and this makes me very excited about the future. Sure I could very well spend a few more hours in bed, hell I could sleep off and on until noon if I put my mind to it, but I would rather make more progress in my life, even if it is just taking one step today in the direction I have chosen head in.

Sleep is not overrated, neither is eating, or entertainment they all have their place. However they don’t have their own purpose in our lives, but are here to serve our purpose in life. I have my hand on the rudder now, I am guiding this ship in the direction I choose to take it. Where it lands is only a part of the journey, so far the trip is pretty damn interesting and that is enough to satisfy me.

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